ArticlePloS one2016
Primary Care Use before Cancer Diagnosis in Adolescents and Young Adults - A Nationwide Register Study.
Article in PloS one, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Interventions to reduce the time to diagnosis of brain tumours.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2020Pooled it
- "I never thought to bring them up to the doctor": examining symptom appraisal, help-seeking behaviors, and diagnostic delays among young adults with cancer.Cancer causes & control : CCC · 2026Article
- International variation in child healthcare practices and implications for childhood cancer diagnosis: a scoping review and cross-country clinician survey.European journal of pediatrics · 2026Article
- Observational
- Specialized healthcare diagnostic events within one year preceding colorectal cancer diagnosis.Acta oncologica (Stockholm, Sweden) · 2026Article
- Use of healthcare services and prescription medication prior to sarcoma diagnosis in children, adolescents, and young adults in 1997-2020: a population-based cohort study.Cancer causes & control : CCC · 2025Article
- Early ophthalmological tumour signs and diagnostic interval in children with brain tumours.Eye (London, England) · 2025Article
- Use of health services one year before primary colorectal cancer.BMC health services research · 2023Article
- The relationship between prior psychiatric diagnosis and brain cancer diagnosis in the U.S. military health system.Cancer causes & control : CCC · 2022Article
- Precursor B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia-a global view.British journal of haematology · 2022Review
- Does changing healthcare use signal opportunities for earlier detection of cancer? A review of studies using information from electronic patient records.Cancer epidemiology · 2022Review
- The Prolonged Diagnostic Pathway of Young Adults (Aged 25-39) with Cancer in the United Kingdom: Results from the Young Adult Cancer Patient Journey Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2021Article
- Article
- Achieving a timely diagnosis for teenagers and young adults with cancer: the ACE "too young to get cancer?" study.BMC cancer · 2019Article
- Age at diagnosis is a heterogeneous factor for non-small cell lung cancer patients.Journal of thoracic disease · 2019Article
- Childhood use of antimicrobials and risk of Hodgkin lymphoma: a Danish register-based cohort study.Blood advances · 2019Article
- Use of Healthcare Services Two Years before Diagnosis in Danish Sarcoma Patients, 2000-2013.Sarcoma · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionSurvival rates of cancer patients have generally improved in recent years. However, children and older adults seem to have experienced more significant clinical benefits than adolescents and young adults (AYAs). Previous studies suggest a prolonged diagnostic pathway in AYAs, but little is known about their pre-diagnostic healthcare use. This study investigates the use of primary care among AYAs during the two years preceding a cancer diagnosis.
methodsThe study is a retrospective population-based matched cohort study using Danish nationwide registry data. All persons diagnosed with cancer during 2002-2011 in the age group 15-39 years were included (N = 12,306); each participant was matched on gender, age and general practice with 10 randomly selected references (N = 123,060). The use of primary healthcare services (face-to-face contacts, blood tests and psychometric tests) was measured during the two years preceding the diagnosis (index date), and collected data were analysed in a negative binomial regression model.
resultsThe cases generally increased their use of primary care already from 8 months before a cancer diagnosis, whereas a similar trend was not found for controls. The increase was observed for all cancer types, but it started at different times: 17 months before a diagnosis of CNS tumour, 12 months before a diagnosis of soft tissue sarcoma, 9 months before a diagnosis of lymphoma, 5-6 months before a diagnosis of leukaemia, bone tumour or GCT, and 3 months before a diagnosis of malignant melanoma.
conclusionThe use of primary care among AYAs increase several months before a cancer diagnosis. The diagnostic intervals are generally short for malignant melanomas and long for brain tumours. A prolonged diagnostic pathway may indicate non-specific or vague symptomatology and low awareness of cancer among AYAs primary-care personnel. The findings suggest potential of faster cancer diagnosis in AYAs.
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